Luzon USAFFE Guerilla Army Forces Note 1942

Finally I was able to post again despite my busy schedule during the past two weeks. I’m sharing these set of notes which I've got from Mr. Coolpit (friend collector) and the info came from "Philippine emergency and guerrilla currency of World War II" by Shafer Neil (finally I was able to visit the National Library just to have an additional info) and I would also like to thank lumang.gamit of E-bay Philippines for letting me use the info about USAFFE Guerilla Army Forces that is included in his listing.

Here is the info regarding these notes:

Official records indicate that two denominations of this issue were made- 100 Pesos and 500 Pesos. This note got a highly significant text(in essence the story of guerilla currency) creates a very high desirability ratio for the note. It is in fact one of the most important in the entire series.

Face: Black print, black serial numbers and two signatures as follows:

W.H. Stephens, Captain, U.S. Army

Walter M. Cushing, Major, U.S. Army

Newspaper shot of Roosevelt at left, eagle in V emblem at right with motto KEEP’EM FLYING. The same emblem and motto form the embossed seal in center. Additionally, the embossed text includes the following: MAJOR WALTER CUSHING GUERILLAS. Date of issue is February 22, 1942.

100 Pesos (face):

The significant text reads: FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES AND BY AUTHORITY OF U.S. CONGRESS, AND BY PROCLAMATION OF PRESIDENT F.D. ROOSEVELT IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ISSUANCE OF THIS EMERGENCY CURRENCY OF ONE HUNDRED PESOS( or FIVE HUNDRED PESOS) AS LEGAL TENDER FOR OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE OF THE MAJOR WALTER CUSHING GUERILLAS, UNDER GENERAL MACARTHUR AND PRESIDENT QUEZON, TO BE REDEEMED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES THRU THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT, AFTER THE WAR. TO REFUSE THIS EMERGENCY CURRENCY IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW.

Back: Black print, value in center.

Size: 163/67mm.

Paper: Plain lightweight pink.

100 Pesos(back):

About USAFFE Guerilla Army Force

Walter Mickey Cushing was a mining engineer and part owner of the Rainbow gold mining properties in Abra Province. He was the first recorded a guerilla force, for which he used his mine employees. The first guerilla action took place on New Year’s Day, 1942. His exploits brought him to the attention of Col. John P. Hora, Commanding Officer of the 43rd infantry, Philippine Scout, operating in Mountain Province. He was commissioned a Major by Col. Horan and given authority to organize guerilla forces in Abra and the Ilocos Provinces. Cushing’s guerilla had no formal designation until after the fall of Bataan, at which time it was designated the 121st Infantry by Gen. Wainwright.

Maj. Cushing died by his own hand on September 19, 1942 after being badly wounded in a Japanese ambush. He preferred death to surrender and saved his last cartridge for himself. His guerilla operations had already made him a legend in northern Luzon, and even the Japanese paid him honor for the manner in which he died.

500 Pesos(face):

Little his known about the currency issued by Major Cushing. The notes were probably printed by Saint Mary the Virgin Mission press in Sagada, Mountain Province, which also printed the mountain Province notes and was the only press in north Luzon capable of doing such printing. There is no way to confirm this as the press and records were destroyed during the war. There reportedly were 2,385,154 pesos issued, but the accuracy of this figure is questionable.

500 Pesos(back):

I must say that I'm really proud to have these notes as part of my collection and I'm interested about the history behind it and according again to the reference book, these notes were apparently made without proper authorization and was not recognized by the Philippine Congress and also not redeemable under Republic Act. No. 369. Despite that however, it seems that they must have gained a degree of acceptance during the war since they were well known at war's end.

Please be also aware, according to Lumang.gamit of E-bay that there are also counterfeits coming out of the market. I'm lucky to have mine as genuine and it seems that the notes I have and lumang.gamit came from one source basing from the similar fold each note had and the name HIDALGO(not sure why) marked at the back of each note. By the way, I've edited this scan a bit, that's why it looks darker and details are easily noticed, compared to the original color which lighter.

Supposedly you've encountered one these notes among your hidden possessions, as a good advice of El Filipino of FilipinoForum.net: "Keep it under lock and key( for me it is as to say preserve it well). Those currencies used during the WWII, invasion, occupation and liberation years have important stories to be told for our national history database." You can read the discussion here:

http://www.filipinoforum.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=544&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I'll discuss the topic about the USAFFE counterfeit in another post, provided with pictures coming from lumang.gamit. I hope this gave you insight about Philippine paper money. I'm also hoping to post another soon and to cope with the busy sched I'm having right now. If you got any additional info regarding my posts, please let me know so that I can include it as well and I'll be grateful to acknowledge your contribution in this blog. Thanks for spending some time reading this post.